Cornyn: Congress will not allow default — Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, said in Houston Thursday that Congress will not allow an impasse over raising the debt ceiling to result in the federal government defaulting on its spending obligations. — “We will raise the debt ceiling.

A new strategy for the GOP — It has become conventional wisdom that Republicans are suffering an internal split that President Obama is successfully exploiting to neuter the Republican House. It is not true, however, that the Republican split is philosophical and fundamental.

GOP De-Escalates Debt Limit Fight — The jig is up. Republicans are going to increase the debt limit. Probably for free. — And in the end, their change of heart took about two weeks. — Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who on January 4 warned that Republicans might force the country past the debt limit …

Obama unveils ‘Organizing for Action’ — President Barack Obama on Friday announced the relaunch of his remaining campaign apparatus as a new tax-exempt group called Organizing for Action that will “play an active role” in “mobilizing around and speaking out in support of important legislation” during his second term.

Up next for Obama: A looming Democratic divide — As President Barack Obama approaches his second inaugural on Monday, he presides over a party that has largely papered over its divisions for the past four years thanks to the president's commanding popularity.

Naked-Image Scanners to Be Removed From U.S. Airports — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration will remove airport body scanners that privacy advocates likened to strip searches after OSI Systems Inc. (OSIS) couldn't write software to make passenger images less revealing.

Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories Edge Toward The Mainstream — “By far the hottest topic of the moment.” Ignore it and it won't go away. — There are two kinds of conspiracy theories: The ones, about the Illuminati and about mysterious “chemtrails,” that lurk forever in the online twilight zone …

Lance Armstrong to Oprah: Story was ‘one big lie’ … Saying his “mythic, perfect story” was “one big lie,” Lance Armstrong admitted that he cheated during most of his famed cycling career and that he bullied people who dared to tell the truth about it. — After denying doping allegations …

Whoops: PolitiFact's ‘Lie of the Year’ Turns Out to Be True — Last month, PolitiFact selected its “Lie of the Year.” Given PolitiFact's dubious record of singling out Republicans for lying far more often then Democrats, you probably could have guessed the winner of this particular sweepstakes was a Mitt Romney campaign ad:

Google's Media Barons … I had to cheer when I read the news the other week about a French company that's selling an ad-blocking service on the Internet. Xavier Niel, the entrepreneurial owner of the web-service provider Free, is threatening to smash the advertiser-supported “free-content” model.

The Dwindling Deficit — It's hard to turn on your TV or read an editorial page these days without encountering someone declaring, with an air of great seriousness, that excessive spending and the resulting budget deficit is our biggest problem. Such declarations are rarely accompanied …

FOR WANT OF A NAIL — (January 16, 2033. A fire-lit cabin in the hills of Brezhnev City, Stalinton - formerly Boise, Idaho. A man sitting on a shattered milk crate looks older than his 53 years. His rumpled, malnourished grandson sits at his feet.) — “Grandpa?

Murray will not run for governor — WORCESTER — Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray will not run for governor in 2014, citing the demands of campaigning, serving in elected office and his desire to spend more time with his wife and two young daughters. — “I've decided that I am not going to run for governor …

GOP's surprising edge on diversity — Editor's note: John Avlon is a CNN contributor and senior political columnist for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He is co-editor of the book “Deadline Artists: America's Greatest Newspaper Columns.” He is a regular contributor to “Erin Burnett OutFront” …

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